House GOPer praises Holder

Freshman Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) on Tuesday took to Twitter to praise Attorney General Eric Holder after discussing with him the Guantanamo Bay prison.

The Obama administration set Jan. 22 as a self-imposed deadline to shutter the facility, which holds suspected terrorists. Congress, however, has demanded that the administration develop a plan to close the base and move the prisoners before authorizing funds to close it.

Good discussion with AG Holder as we walked from Cannon to Rayburn building. Chit chat with some GITMO comments from me.

The AG was very nice. Great to chat with him. Hope to do it again.

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Most Republican lawmakers oppose a proposal floated over the summer to transfer prisoners onto the U.S. mainland. The Senate yesterday ratified the 2010 Homeland Security appropriations bill that included a provision allowing Gitmo detainees to stand trial on the U.S. mainland, but did not allow prisoners to be permanently housed there.

Chaffetz voted against the measure, which most Republicans opposed citing security issues and legal protections being afforded to those who do not deserve them.